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This thesis is concerned with the study of sustainable mobility in rural tourism areas. In particular, it aims to: i) contribute to a better understanding of the transport challenges faced by rural tourism areas; and ii) explore how to plan for sustainable mobility in such places. The overarching research question that has guided this investigation is as follows: How can rural tourism regions promote sustainable mobility? To achieve the aim of this thesis, two main aspects of sustainable mobility are addressed. Firstly, by incorporating perspectives from various stakeholder groups, including tourists, residents, second-home owners and practitioners involved in transport planning, the study seeks to gain a comprehensive understanding of transportation challenges and the travel practices of the various groups. Secondly, the thesis explores how Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) – a rarely-used participatory land use planning method in tourism studies - can aid in sustainable mobility planning. The thesis draws from several concepts and a theory. The concepts include monomodalism, car dependency, wicked problems, (un)desirable transport futures, automobility and public participation in planning processes. The theory is that of social representation. The thesis is based on a case study approach, focusing on four selected locations in Sweden: Sälen; Malung-Sälen; Älvdalen; and Åre. These locations are prominent rural tourism regions that face significant transport-related challenges for which they seek to implement sustainable solutions. A mixed-methods approach is employed, integrating both qualitative and quantitative techniques to address the objectives outlined in the five papers that make up the thesis. The findings of the thesis collectively show that the main challenge to sustainable mobility in rural tourism regions is one that can be termed a crisis of uncontested poly-challenges. In other words, these regions simultaneously face a conundrum of transport challenges, including the hegemony of the private car coupled with poor public transport services as well as a shortage of policy frameworks for developing sustainable mobility. In addition, the regions included in this study have historically been marginalised when it comes to transport planning research and policy, a situation which further exacerbates their peripheral position with regard to promoting sustainable mobility. This thesis makes a theoretical contribution to the fields of tourism and transport research. It does so by applying contemporary concepts in sustainability discussions and social representation theory to inform our understanding of transport challenges. Furthermore, by investigating the potential of the PPGIS method as a tool for sustainable rural mobility planning and how to design effective PPGIS studies for such planning, this thesis makes a methodological and practical contribution to the fields.

In support planning and decision-making processes within social work and healthcare, user participation is emphasised as a core principle. However, the concept of user participation remains ambiguously defined, and a gap persists between the intentions outlined in the literature and policies on the one hand and practical implementation on the other. This dissertation focuses on adults with comorbidity of substance use problems and mental illness/ADD/ADHD or autism within the context of establishing a coordinated individual plan (CIP) – a process that involves collaboration among social service and healthcare staff and the user (i.e. the individual receiving support). The aim of this thesis is to explore how user participation is understood and can be facilitated in CIP.         

In the thesis, a predominantly qualitative approach supplemented by questionnaire data is used. In the first study, a grounded theory approach based on individual interviews with users is used to explore how adults with comorbidity perceive participation in social services. In the second study, data from future workshops and present-and-future stories workshops is analysed to explore staff perspectives on challenges and potential solutions related to user participation, shared decision-making and support coordination in CIP. Following the first two studies, an innovation designed to increase user participation through shared decision-making – namely, a revised CIP process with a new form for documentation – was introduced to staff via training sessions across three sites. In the third study, barriers to and facilitators of the implementation process of this innovation are explored using an approach inspired by explanatory mixed methods that combines staff questionnaires with individual and focus group interviews with staff. Finally, in the fourth study, individual interviews are conducted with users and staff to explore their experiences of the revised CIP process.      

This thesis contributes to an understanding of user participation as a relational process characterised by mutual trust, knowledge-sharing and working together over time. This understanding applies to the shaping of mutual trust not only between users and staff but also among staff members, as this thesis supports an understanding of the importance of staff relations in facilitating user participation in the CIP process. Knowledge sharing and working together over time are shown to be facilitated by the revised CIP process and new form for documentation. Despite these promising experiences with the revised CIP process, several barriers to the implementation are identified, including perceptions of the complexity of the innovation, time constraints and challenges in communication across organisational boundaries. This thesis stresses the importance of prioritising relational processes, with knowledge sharing being built on mutual trust between users and staff and among staff members, in order to unlock CIP’s full potential for coordinated support with user participation. 

Human Resource Analytics (HRA) is a technology-enabled organisational practice that utilises quantitative data and analysis to enhance HR decision-making. While HRA has gained increasing interest among HR practitioners, its adoption has been predominantly concentrated in technology-intensive private sector companies. At the same time, academic research on HRA remains limited, particularly in the public sector. Although factors such as low technological maturity and a lesser focus on profit maximisation and competitive advantage may hinder its implementation, HRA holds significant potential for public sector organisations due to their distinct characteristics. These include large workforces generating extensive HR-related data, political authority, governmental ownership, and a strong emphasis on transparency, accountability, and efficiency in areas such as competence supply, workforce recruitment, and retention.This thesis comprises four papers that collectively conceptualise and investigate the practice of HRA, exploring the reasons, preconditions, and processes involved in its implementation within public sector organisations. Empirical data were collected from three Swedish public sector organisations at the national, regional, and local levels. The study employs an engaged scholarship research design, allowing for the pragmatic application of multiple theoretical perspectives best suited to address the overarching research question: How is HRA being implemented in public sector organisations? This research aims to contribute to the existing HRA literature while also offering practical insights for organisations and HR practitioners operating in this under-researched context.By adopting a practice-based approach, informed by institutional legitimacy concept, the AMO (Ability, Motivation, Opportunity) framework, and organisational translation perspective, this thesis reveals that HRA practices undergo significant adaptation during implementation. In the public sector, HRA has primarily been limited to improving HR reporting and the visualisation of descriptive HR data. HRA practitioners, driven by contextual factors and the need to ensure the legitimacy of HR activities through economic rationality, face constraints related to analytical skills, organisational resources, and sector-specific characteristics.Given the rapid advancements in technology, including the growing influence of AI, future research should explore how these developments, alongside challenges such as employee privacy and data protection, impact the further evolution of HRA practices in the public sector.